7.2.07

what it means to be a real (compound) man

Chazal tell us that בני ישראל נקראים אדם, the Jews are called אדם but the gentiles are not referred to by such a descriptor. The Maor Eynayim explains this in a very straight-forward manner:

The blood (דם) is the binding place of the animal soul. The soul that all created beings have. The godly soul, is a literal part of God, of אלופו של עולם. Only the Jews have a godly soul, and so only they combine both an animal soul (דם) and a godly soul (א), combined it becomes: אדם